Player support for owners' plan dwindles

Posted on: November 11, 2011 6:17 pm

Edited on: November 11, 2011 7:14 pm

NEW YORK -- Support among players and agents for the owners' revised collective bargaining proposal appears to be lower than it was for the previous offer, and approximately half the union membership is expected to sign decertification petitions in a show of defiance, multiple people involved in the process told CBSSports.com Friday.

"This isn't going to fly," said one formerly moderate agent now on board with the movement to decertify and vote down the owners' latest ultimatum proposal -- if it goes up for a vote at all.

At least 15-20 agents representing an array of agencies held a conference call Friday to plot their next strategy as players and their representatives angered by the proposal prepared to submit the decertification cards to the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election to dissolve the union.

The NLRB almost certainly wouldn't authorize an election unless the National Basketball Players Association withdrew its unfair labor practices charge against the NBA -- something union officials are not believed to be considering, as an NLRB complaint remains the most ironclad chance for a federal injunction lifting the lockout, legal sources said.

Even if the NLRB charge were dropped, an election would still take 45-60 days to schedule. In the meantime, negotiations between the league and union leadership could continue. The pressure perhaps would be shifted to the owners to modify their proposals if they are serious about having the 72-game season that Stern promised Thursday night, complete with Christmas Day games and a regularly scheduled All-Star weekend, if the players approved the existing offer.

In addition to the seven major agencies that have been clamoring for decertification for months, several other previously moderate agencies have joined the movement, sources told CBSSports.com.

"They've lost me," said one of the previously moderate agents. "Three months ago, we thought this would be done. We thought people would be reasonable."

The owners' lack of significant movement on key system issues in their revised proposal, plus new, still-to-be-negotiated requests viewed by the players and agents as draconian, make the chances of players voting for the proposal -- or player reps even recommending it for a vote -- extremely unlikely, sources said.

The new proposal, one of the agents said, is "probably as bad, if not worse than the last proposal."

Union executives are bringing the 30 team player reps to New York Monday or Tuesday to evaluate the latest proposal from the league, delivered Thursday night once again with the threat that if the players rejected it, they would be faced with a worse offer. Commissioner David Stern said the latest proposal, which contains a 50-50 split of revenues, would be replaced by the so-called "reset" proposal in which players would receive 47 percent of revenues and be constrained by a flex cap with a hard team payroll ceiling and a rollback of existing contracts.

In the revised proposal, the owners made the following moves toward the players' position:

* Increase the mid-level exception for luxury tax-paying teams to three-year deals starting at $3 million, available every year. The previous proposal called for mid-level deals for tax teams to be for two years starting at $2.5 million and available every other year.

* Allow tax-payers to execute sign-and-trade transactions for the first two years of the agreement. Such trades would be banned for tax teams after that. They were completely banned for tax-payers in the prior proposal.

* Create a new, $2.5 million exception that can be used by teams that are under the cap. It would allow teams that previously only had cap space to sign a minimum salary player to offer more.

* Increase the team payroll floor (i.e. minimum team salary) to 90 percent of the cap in the third year of the deal and 85 percent in the first two years. It was 85 percent across the entire agreement in the previous proposal, and 75 percent in the prior CBA.

* Increase annual raises for Bird free agents to 6.5 percent, up from 5.5 percent in the prior proposal. Non-Bird players' annual raises remain capped at 3.5 percent, as in the previous proposal. In the prior CBA, Bird raises were capped at 10.5 percent and non-Bird at 8 percent.

* Increase qualifying offers to restricted free agents.

* Allow player options in contracts for players making less than the average league salary. In the previous proposal, player options were banned. There were no restrictions on player options in the previous CBA.

* Accept the union's proposal that each side be able to opt out of the 10-year CBA after the sixth year.

But union officials and agents were disappointed that the league did not address the so-called tax cliff, by which teams are double-penalized for barely wading above the tax line, and they disagree with the league's position that mid-level restrictions would be in place if the signing pushed the team's payroll above the tax. The players want teams to be able to use the exception as long as they are under the tax line before the signing occurs.

"We'll try in court, because it can't get worse than this," one of the formerly moderate agents said. "... The owners are selling players short on their intelligence, and they're definitely selling their representatives short."

The introduction of a series of B-list issues -- drug testing in the offseason, an age-limit of 20, and a provision that would allow teams to send players to the D-League during the first five years of their careers and make substantially less than the NBA minimum -- formed a rallying point for players and agents who formerly were open to considering the league's proposal to become unified against it. League officials said Friday that these B-list issues are not in the owners' written proposal, and that both sides agreed to "park" them to be discussed after there is agreement on the framework of the major issues.

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

And the fans should own the teams. Just like the way they do it in greenbay. So we dont have to deal with these rich egos. We hire some suits as GM's, 20 million fans pony up $200 each and we have 4 billion dollars. Every state has two arenas or we should be able to use the ones the nba plays in cause they were all bought with tax payer money. The owner have it easy right now they dont even have to pay for there own arenas we pay for it all. We have the money we just been giving it to the NBA so they can run there league. They really dont care about us anyway. who's In.

Since: Nov 29, 2009

Posted on: November 13, 2011 4:27 pm

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

Time for a New Rogue League Like the ABA or AFL

The Players should stick it to the owners and form a new league with a few billionaires who are looking for somewhere to blow some money- there are enough rich guys, arenas, and TV networks to make it work, not just for a North American League but a World League. Kobe can go to Vegas, Lebron to Paris, Wade to London England, Dirk to Berlin, Pau Gasol to Mexico City, Amar'e to Tel Aviv, Tony Parker to Montreal, Pierce to Raleigh-Durham, Garnett to Seattle, Dwight Howard to St. Louis, Chris Paul to Kansas City, and so on. Then let the 'Wolves and Knicks, Celts and Mavs become part of the D-League.

Since: Aug 20, 2006

Posted on: November 12, 2011 7:26 pm

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

You know what - the owners are the Boss's and the players are the employees.... employees... PS LeBron you are not that good and will never be that good!

League negotiations should never allow player agents to be involved... of course they want more money - more money for the players means much more money for them - conflict of interest?

I really couldn't give a crap whether the NBA plays this year or not...

After arriving in Philadelphia the day after that year's All-Star game and witness how many out of town wannabe gangsta's were checking out of the hotel I was going to - wow the bling, the rides, the ho's, the drugs, the trashed rooms... that is what the NBA has come to... now the players think they are gangsta's also...

well, if he NBA folds up completely I would not loose any sleep over it... it has become more of a rap and gangsta venue than the family situation it used to be...

Since: Oct 13, 2011

Posted on: November 12, 2011 6:44 pm

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

I think your the one that needs to grow up. What world are you living in? The NBA is entertainment, nothing else. It doesn't put food on my table to feed my family and it doesn't pay my bills. By the way, fans are correct when they say the NBA is not half of what it used to be. It sucks right now. All about one on one, no team ball, most players can't even hit a mid range jump shot if thier lives depended on it. Look at one of the old 80's or early 90's hardwood classic games and that will show you what basketball used to be like. Players actually passed the ball around and played liked they care about winning and not like selfish idiots only concerned about how many points they can score so they can use ot to get more money on thier next contract. Here's a suggestion, try spending more time with your loved ones or investing quality time into your community helping out folks less fortunate. I love the NBA as well but I enjoy the extra time with my kids and friends.

Since: Nov 12, 2011

Posted on: November 12, 2011 6:44 pm

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

Someone please help me. There is so much jargon in the issues. What do they mean? These are:mid-level exception for luxury tax-paying teamstax-payers to execute sign-and-trade transactionsCreate a new, $2.5 million exceptioncap space Bird free agentsqualifying offersrestricted free agentsplayer options10-year CBA Thouhg I can guess for several of these phrases, some concrete definitions will clarify the issues for me. We all want, &nbsp; basketballon.

Since: Nov 6, 2011

Posted on: November 12, 2011 6:32 pm

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

If you honestly think that college basketball is better then the NBA, then you are in fact, a moron.

Since: Oct 13, 2011

Posted on: November 12, 2011 6:30 pm

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

And still, nobody cares. These guys just don't get it. Fans have allready had enough of this garbage and have tuned them out. The thing that cracks me up is there the last one's to know. LOL

Since: Dec 19, 2006

Posted on: November 12, 2011 6:09 pm

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

The players are morons. These largely illiterate people will rapidly lose their lavish lifestyles and turn to lives of drugs and crime. Tkae the deal -you are lucky that there is an NBA. What can most of you do without basketball??????

Since: Aug 24, 2006

Posted on: November 12, 2011 5:40 pm

Player support for owners' plan dwindles

Please cancel the season and all the seasons to follow, the pro game is horrible. The college game is so much better and so much more enjoyable to watch !!!!